Returning Home
by Slytherin Head
Summary: Tobias Snape wakes up from a horrible nightmare where his only son,Severus is brutally murdered.But was it really just a dream?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer- I don't own it! Never have and never will. Not JKR. She is the lucky one that has Severus. If he was mine then I wouldn't let him out of my sight for even a minute. Some of the stuff you do recognize are from the DH. So not mine I am just borrowing it for the sake of the story._

_A/N- I know, I know, I should be working on "Attack of the Mini Cupids". But this little sucker snuck up on me out of no where and won't go away. Sooooo I decided to post some of the chapters and see if this plot bunny will finally let me know the end. Hope you like it._

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"Kill"

There was a horrible scream. Snape's face lost the little color it had left; it whitened, as his black eyes widened, as the snake's fangs pierced his neck, as he failed to push the enchanted cage off himself, as his knees gave way, and he fell to the floor.

ooooOoooo

Miles away a man named Tobias Snape woke up with a start. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he slowly tried to regain his breath. Cold sweat covered his forehead as he held his head in his hands. Taking deep breaths he willed his heart to calm down. He could feel his whole body shaking as if he had just run a marathon.

Suddenly something in him broke and he was crying. He had the same dream again. The one were his boy was brutally murdered. It was always the same, the great snake, a run down room, and a man that looked like a snake with red eyes. Tobias had been having the dream for almost a year now. When it had first started it he would dream it once in a while but in the last two weeks it had him waking him up every night. The first night it he had dream it Tobias didn't know who the man being murdered was. It wasn't until the third dream that he realized it was his son, Severus Snape.

It had been years since Tobias had last seen his son. Severus had left the Spinner's End right after he had returned from Hogwarts, fresh from his 6th year. It had been the same year when Eileen had died. With his wife dead and his only son gone, Tobias had finally seen the damage that he had done to his family with his abusive behavior. Soon after he vowed on his wife's grave that he would never drink another drop of alcohol ever again. Tobias had also searched high and low for his son, but it was soon obvious that Severus had moved to the magical world. It broke his heart to know that he had driven his only child away from him. Tobias always prayed that Severus was okay and that he was safe.

After a couple of minutes of crying Tobias made his way to his restroom where he washed his face with cool water. When he was done he walked to the kitchen for a warn glass of milk. He wasn't planning on going back to sleep but he needed something to soothed his nerves. Thinking that perhaps watching some telly might take his mind off his dream Tobias made his way towards the living room. Suddenly there was a flash of bright light in front of him. Letting the glass of milk fall to the ground Tobias tried to shield his eyes from the light and took cover behind the kitchen counter. After a couple of minutes of trying to adjust his eyes again, Tobias heard a soft cry. It sounded like a song, he wondered if it was a bird but he didn't know what kind of bird made a sound like that.

Slowly getting to his feet Tobias looked over the counter and saw a most magnificent bird on top of his dinning table. It had red feathers that looked soft as silk; the bird's eyes held an amazing power and it stood tall with pride. For some reason Tobias was not afraid of the creature but felt comforted. Mesmerized Tobias made his way around the counter to get a better look at the bird, when he saw something on the floor that almost made his heart stop.

"Oh, good God! Severus!"

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A/N- So what you think? Love it? Hate it?I know this was rather short but i can assure you that the chapters will get longer. please Review! I love hearing from everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer- I don't own it! Never have and never will. I'm Not JKR. She is the lucky one that has Severus. If he was mine then I wouldn't let him out of my sight for even a minute._

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Tobias slowly made his way towards the body on the floor. He didn't know if his son was alive or not. Praying as he kneeled down to his son's body, Tobias carefully touched Severus' face. It was still warm, but it looked deathly white. Turning Severus on his back, Tobias saw the huge snake bite that had plagued his dreams for a year now. He didn't know how Severus was still alive. He could see his son struggling to breathe properly.

He didn't want to pick Severus up in fear of hurting him, but he couldn't leave him on the floor. Finally making his mind up, he carefully picked Severus up and was alarmed at how light he was. Making his way to his bedroom he placed Severus on his bed and quickly retrieved some cloths to stop the bleeding. Tobias was panicking, he didn't want to leave his son alone, but he also didn't want to lose him again, and this time for ever. He couldn't call an ambulance because then he would have to try and explain how Severus not only got hurt but how he suddenly got to his home in the middle of the night.

_"Oh, well, you see my son is a wizard. That's how he got to my home. Yes I know, sounds crazy. But he was attacked by a big, vicious snake. Where did the snake come from? Oh, that's easy. The man with the snake face owns it. No I haven't been drinking!"_

Looking around the room, his eyes fell once again on the bird that he assumed had brought Severus to him. Glancing down at his son, he saw that somehow Severus was even whiter than when he had found him. Suddenly, he knew what to do. There was a man across the street from him that was a doctor. He would make sure that the bird would stay with his son and he would go and get the doctor. "Okay you," he said looking at the red bird. "Please stay with Severus, and keep an eye on him. I'm going to get help. I promise I won't be long." Saying the last part to Severus, Tobias quickly pulled his boots on and stormed out of the house.

Once he was standing outside the house of the doctor, Tobias started pounding on the door. He didn't dare shout even thought he desperately wanted to, but he didn't want any of the neighbors to know what was going on. Seeing the light turn on he stopped pounding on the door and waited for it to open.

"For crying out loud! Do you have any idea what time it is?" came a shout from the inside.

"Doctor Marcus, it's Tobias Snape. Please open up!"

The door opened and a short man appeared wearing purple pajamas. His hair was white and sticking from odd angles and his jaw was covered in his morning beard.

oooOooo

Trying to focus his eyes, the doctor finally recognized Tobias. "It's almost 3 in the morning," Doctor Marcus said as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "Someone better be dying for you to wake me up so early."

"Doctor Marcus, it's my son. I can't explain it but please come with me. He is hurt. I managed to stop the bleeding but he needs your help. Please! He's my only son."

Seeing the desperation in the old man's face, Doctor Marcus nodded and went to his office running to gather his doctor's kit. He ran back to the front door and stepped outside. Following Tobias, he made his way towards the old man's home. Upon entering the house, a strong smell of blood hit his nose. He wondered briefly how bad this person was to leave such a stench. He continued to follow Tobias towards the bedroom and when he entered the room his eyes widened as he looked at the man lying on the bed. Doctor Marcus stopped dead in his tracks as he stood at the doorway of the bedroom. Anger filled his body, as he looked on to the man lying on the bed dying.

"Is something wrong Doctor?" Tobias asked as he saw the doctor stop in his tracks, the emotion playing on the man's face did not go un-noticed by Tobias. But maybe he was seeing things.

"No, Mr. Snape. It's just the shock of seeing someone like this…it's hard to control that emotion," Doctor Marcus said as he tried to avoid eye contact with Tobias. Fully awake now, he quickly made his way towards the bed and pulled out plastic gloves from his kit. Throwing another pair to Tobias, he said, "We need to remove his clothes and see if he has any other injuries."

They worked in silence carefully removing Severus' clothes from him. Tobias was preparing himself for when Doctor Marcus asked why Severus was wearing robes, but the question never came. Once done, Doctor Marcus only saw the wound on the neck that needed to be taken care of. Carefully cleaning the injury, he began to stitch Severus. The doctor wanted to ask Tobias how his son got hurt, but he knew that he wasn't going to be told anything he didn't need to know. Once done, he cleaned up the wound and put a gauze on it.

Tobias watched carefully as the doctor tried to save his son's life. He knew that the doctor wanted to ask what happened to Severus with the way that he kept frowning. Tobias wondered if calling on the doctor had been such a great idea. There seems to be anger in the man's eyes as he looked at Severus. Suddenly feeling more protective of his son than ever, Tobias took Severus' hand in his own and held it to his chest. Seeing Severus beginning to shiver he said, "Doctor, he's burning up. Is there anything you could give him?"

"I'm sorry I can't risk giving your son anything. His injury looks like he was bitten by something. If it was poisonous then from the looks of things someone already gave him the antidote. _'But_, he mused,_ 'I wonder if someone gave him a magical antidote.'_ Since I don't know what bit him or what he was given, I'm afraid I can't give your son anything for the fever. He is just going to have to let his body take care of it."

_'Besides, I doubt a hospital will know what to do with a patient like him if he is taken to one,'_ Doctor Marcus thought to himself.

Throwing away his gloves, he began to pack his things away. Once done, he motioned for Tobias to walk him out. When they reached the front door Doctor Marcus placed a hand on Tobias' shoulder and said, "I did everything I could for your son. The only thing we can do now is wait. I have to warn you though; your son's chances of surviving are very low. Please brace yourself for the worst. I'll come by again in a couple of hours. If anything else happens, call me right away. Goodbye sir."

Not being able to say anything, Tobias quietly closed the door and made his way back to his son.

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A/N- Okay this is the new Revised chapter. Hope things make more sense now than they did with the original chapter two. Review please! I would love to hear how I did this time.

Thanks to my amazing beta Deb, she was the one who helped me make this chapter worth typing.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer- Last time I checked my name wasn't JK Rowling. If you recognize anythign from DH thats because parts were taken from Deathly Hollows to make this story, so they aren't mine. Don't sue I'm too poor to give anything. _

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"So, the bat lives. Do you think he'll make it through the rest of the night?"

"To tell you the truth, yes. He must have had Nagini's anti-venom on him when the Dark Lord called him to his side. Otherwise nobody would have bothered to take his body to his father's house in the middle of the night. Not to mention in the middle of a Muggle neighborhood."

"Of course, that traitor knew it was a matter of time before he was found out. Although I do regret that the Dark Lord's intent on killing Snape wasn't because he thought him a traitor."

"He eluded the most powerful wizard we have ever seen, but he wasn't able to fool you was he, brother?"

"Hmft! No, he wasn't. To bad that for once that blasted snake didn't do her job right. I couldnt even get her to finish the job now, somehow that idiot boy, Longbottom, managed to slice her in half."

"Did he now? Well, I think his father would be proud of him. Though at this point, the man would be proud of air."

"This really isn't the time for your idiot joke. There are better things to think about."

"I know, dear brother, I know. So, will you attack old Snape's house?"

"Little brother, let me do all the hard thinking. You just keep an eye on the house. Make sure that the old man doesn't call the Muggle healers."

"He won't, don't worry. If he does, he'll have to answer questions that have no explanation in the Muggle world. Brother? I thought you told me that old-man Snape hated his son."

"Are you implying that I lied to you?"

"N-no…it's just that …that the way the old man was frantically trying to get help for his son, it didn't seem like the kind of behavior that someone has when they don't want their child to die. He almost broke down the door to the doctor's house trying to get help. "

"Don't waste my time trying to figure out how the Muggle mind works."

"Sorry. Ah, yes, before I forget. I think you should know that I saw Dumbledore's Phoenix bring Snape in. That blasted bird was always one for making an entrance. I thought the bird died the same day the old coot took a dive off the Astronomy tower."

"I did too, hmm... I don't think there is a need to worry about the pest. If it does get in my way, then I'll make sure to call you for a turkey dinner."

"What if the old man gets in the way?"

"I'll let him watch as I slowly kill his son. If everything goes according to the plan, then I'll let him live. What he witnesses should be enough to drive him crazy or just kill himself. Either way, the world might just find itself Snape-less."

"You're such a merciful man, brother."

"Sarcasms will only get you so far, little brother."

"Your beginning to sound like father. Anyways, I have to go, my wife is waking up. I'll report later with more news.''

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The sun was slowly making its way to the top of the mountains near Hogwarts. Dust from the battle was finally dying down and the damage to one of the most elite schools in the world was seen by all. Bodies of the dead were brought into the castle and were waiting to be found by their love ones. At the top of the castle, inside the Headmaster's office, the Golden Trio were there to finally end their journey.

"I think Harry's right," said Hermione quickly.

"That wand's more trouble than it's worth," said Harry. "And quite honestly," he turned away from the painted portraits, thinking only of the four-poster bed lying waiting for him in Gryffindor Tower, and wondering whether Kreacher might bring him a sandwich there, "I've had enough trouble for a life time."

Once outside the Headmaster's office, Hermione suddenly grasped Harry's arm. "Harry! What about Professor Snape? I think we need to retrieve his body."

Harry looked at Hermione and wondered how he could have forgotten about the man. He still couldn't believe everything Snape had done for the light. All the love Snape had had for Lily. It must have been torture having to look at Harry and see Lily's eyes, not filled with love but with hatred. Blinking back tears, Harry said, "You're right, Hermione. But I think it should just be the three of us that should get his body back. I don't want anyone else to see him like that."

"Oi!" Ron said as he stepped in front of both Harry and Hermione. He wasn't against them, but for once they were the ones that weren't thinking correctly. "Do you honestly think that Mum is going to let the lot of us out of her sight? Right now she must be ready to bring Bellatrix back to life just to ask her where we are and then kill her again. Besides, she'll go mental if we tell her where we are going and why." Seeing that his friends were about ready to argue with him, Ron held his hand up to stop them from interrupting him. "Harry, listen mate. I know that you said Snape was on our side the whole time, but there are still people out there in the Great Hall that hate Snape and believe that he was just let Dumbledore think he was one of the good guys so he didn't have to go to Azkaban. They would probably be happy to find out he is dead, which means that they are not going to believe us when we tell them that we are going to retrieve the body of a hero."

"But, Ron, he was on our side and didn't do it because he didn't want to go to Azkaban." Harry said.

"Harry, those people don't know that. Some of them still think that you are crazy. Besides, they would want to know why Snape killed Dumbledore if he was on our side."

"Ron, honestly," Hermione said in a tone that clearly said 'you're an idiot'. "What do you think Disollusement Charms are for? Anyhow, we don't have to worry about people not believing Harry. I'm sure that Dumbledore left proof of Professor Snape's loyalties and innocences. So can we go now?"

Ron looked shocked at Hermione and then smiled. "Well, when you put it that way, what are we waiting for? We have a hero's body to retrieve."

Casting the Disillusionment Charm on themselves, they quickly made their way towards the Shrieking Shack. They kept their wands out just incase there were any enemies still on the grounds. Harry tried to prepare himself to see Snape's body again. The way the Potions master had died had been horrible. Having something take a bite out of you and be poisoned at the same time was not something Harry would ever wish on anyone.

When they finally reached the end of the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, the Golden Trio stopped. Hermione cast a Detection Spell to make sure that it was safe for them to go in. Sadly, Harry and Ron heard her say softly, "It's okay, no one is in there." For some reason those words made Harry feel a slight clutch in his heart, Snape was really dead, there was nothing anyone could do now. Without thinking, Harry took off the Disillusionment Charm. He didn't need it anymore, there was no one in that building that was going to harm them.

When he saw that Ron and Hermione had also cast off their charms, Harry slowly made his way to the room where Snape's body was. Seeing the door still slightly opened, he went in. Looking at the puddle of blood on the floor, Harry sunk to his knees. There was no body, someone else must have beaten them to it. Harry didn't want to think about what that person or group of people could have possibly done to the Potions master's body.

Hermione was crying as she made her way towards the spot where she had seen her former Professor fall. "There's so much blood, how could anyone survive after losing so much blood?" As she drew nearer she gasped and spun around to face her two boys. "Guys, there's a Phoenix feather here! Fawkes must have been here! Harry!"

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A/N- Yay! Another chapter done! Man this one was a tough one to get up, it went through a lot of changes. Hope you guys liked it! Please review, I totally love hearing from all of you.

Thanks to my awesome beta Deb for beta'ing this, she's a life saver.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer- I don't own it. I wish I did. But it all belongs to J. K. Rowling. _

_A/N- Hey, everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I didn't realized it had been that long since the last update. I was not holding this story hostage, and I promise that it will get done. I've found way too many good stories that have been abandoned. So rest a sure that this story is going to be finished. _

_I'm thinking that this story wont be more than maybe ten chapters with a possible epilogue. But that is all up to you loyal readers, tell me what you would like to see happen in this story and I will see if it can happen. _

_So with that out of the way. -drum roll- let's get on with the show!_

_Oh how could I forget! -shame on me- Thanks to my fabulous beta Deb. These chapters wouldn't even make sense without her help. -applause- _

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"Where have you been? Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going? Don't you realize there are still Death Eaters out there? What if they had captured you? What if you had been killed?" A frantic Molly Weasley was screaming at the Golden Trio upon their return.

Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, Arthur Weasley stepped in, "Now, now, Molly. I'm sure that the kids have a perfectly good explanation as to where they were and why. Don't you kids?"

Harry was still in shock and was hardly listening to what was going on around him. Ron was too scared to say anything. He was already scared of his mother, but now that he knows it was HIS mother who killed Bellatix Lestrange, well he would rather face the Dark Lord.

Seeing how neither one of the boys was going to answer, Hermione stepped up to Mrs. Weasley with her chin held high. "Mrs. Weasley, please listen to me and please try to understand. We went to the Shrieking Shack." Seeing the anger rising up again on Mrs. Weasley, Hermione quickly continued. "No, Mrs. Weasley, listen. We went to the Shrieking Shack to… to retrieve Professor Snape's body. We didn't want anyone else to see him the way he had died. He deserved better than that. But when we got there, his body was gone. There was no trace that anyone else had taken his body away. The only things we found were dust, blood and a phoenix feather."

Taking a deep breath, Mrs. Weasley said, "And why exactly would you want to retrieve the body of that traitor? He killed Albus Dumbledore, for Merlin's sake. I for one hope that he died a painful death, even if it wont be enough to pay for all the damage he did."

There was a long silence after Mrs. Weasley was done. Harry suddenly began to cry, Mrs. Weasley became instantly worried about the young boy. Her anger quickly banished as she made her way towards the Boy-Who-Lived. Before she could get any closer, Harry moved back and held his hand up. Wiping his eyes on the back of his robes, he looked her in the eyes with anger. "You don't understand. Snape wasn't a traitor. I already said this, why don't you believe me?"

"Harry," Mrs. Weasley said as she tried once again to get close to Harry. "It's not that I don't believe you. It's that I don't see evidence which says that Snape is innocent. You saw him kill Dumbledore! How could he not be a traitor?"

"He just wasn't a traitor! He had always been on our side. He risked his entire adult life to make sure we would win." Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes. He was frustrated that Mrs. Weasley didn't want to listen to him. But he had to try to get to her and make her understand. "He didn't exactly kill Professor Dumbledore. I saw his memories, and Dumbledore's portrait confirmed it too. Professor Dumbledore was already dying from a curse, that's why his hand was black. Professor Snape tried to save him, but only managed to give him a year. Can't you see? Dumbledore would have died either way."

Mr. Weasley saw that his wife was ready to argue with Harry. He knew that she really wasn't listening to what was being said to her and that she would refuse to listen to any thing that said that the Potions master was innocent. "Harry," he said cutting off whatever thing his wife was getting ready to say. "If Albus was indeed dying, then why did Severus kill him?"

Tiredly, Harry said, "It's too long of a story, but needless to say, it was all part of Dumbledore's grand plan." Throwing a glare in Mrs. Weasley's direction, Harry said, "And since your _wife _had her heart set on Snape dying a most painful death, then I can assure you he did. Voldemort set his snake, Nagini, on him. She bit the Professor on his neck. I don't even want to think about what could have killed him; the bite or all the blood he lost. But it was probably painful either way." Not wanting to see anyone anymore, Harry turned and walked towards the Astronomy tower. Leaving behind a white-faced Molly and a shocked Ron.

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Tobias was instantly awakened when he felt the bed move. He had fallen asleep some time in the middle of night with Severus' hand in his own. Quickly getting to his feet, Tobias took a look at his son. Severus was trying to open his eyes and was also trying to say something. Putting an ear close to Severus' mouth, Tobias was able to make out the word, "Water".

Reaching for the glass of water which he always kept on his bed stand, Tobias carefully helped Severus raise his head to take a drink of water. "Easy there Severus, drink slowly. That's a good boy. Do you want more water?" Putting down the glass, he realized that Severus had gone back to sleep almost immediately. Laying him down on the bed again, Tobias went to go fetch another cover for Severus.

After making sure that Severus was covered, Tobias sat back down in his chair and looked at the bird that was still in the same room as he. "Isn't there anything you could do to help my boy?" He asked, anguish in his voice at the thought of losing his son.

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and the bird was gone. Groaning, Tobias buried his face in his hands. "I didn't mean disappeared!"

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At Hogwarts, Harry was looking over the grounds from the top of the Astronomy tower. For him, it was where everything truly changed. He saw his mentor and friend murdered without being able to do anything to help him. He witnessed a man sacrificing his life and soul for the entire wizarding world. He was there when war was declared between the Light and the Dark. Harry didn't know for how long he had been in the tower when he heard footsteps coming his way.

As he looked towards the door, he was surprised to see Healer Pye, who was definitely the last person Harry expected to see.

"Hey, Harry! Mrs. Weasley told me to look for you. She says that you were acting strange and imagining things. You look okay to me. Maybe just some cuts and bruises. How do you feel?"

Harry turned his back to the young Healer. He couldn't believe that Mrs. Weasley would think that he was making things up. No one ever believed in what he said, no one wanted to believe that Severus Snape had been a hero. '_But you didn't want to believe Dumbledore when he told you to trust Snape. You never did,' _a small voice in his head said_._

"Harry, are you okay?" Healer Pye asked as he stood next to Harry, looking out to the grounds. "Mrs. Weasley told me that you were going off about how Professor Snape was actually on our side the whole time. That Snape killing Albus Dumbledore had all been part of some plan."

"Did she also tell you how she hopes that Snape had a painful death?" Harry asked bitterly.

"Uh… not sure to tell you the truth. I stopped listening after a while. That woman can go off in a rant if she wants to. Besides, I believe you," Pye finished saying as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry looked at the young Healer in disbelief. "You do?"

"Harry, I'm going to tell you something that no one else knows," Healer Pye said as he looked around to make sure that they were indeed alone. "Around the end of August, I got an owl at St. Mungo's. When I opened the letter, I found the antidote against You-Know-Who's snake. At first I thought it was some sort of joke since we already had the formula for the antidote. But then I realized that there were several changes to it. I decided to give it a try, and I brewed it. A couple of weeks later, we got a patient that had been bitten by the snake. Naturally, we gave them the original antidote, when it didn't work we realized that the snake's venom had been altered. It was then that I used the new formula. It worked right away, everyone wanted to know how I got it so fast and how I had thought about it. I told them I had been just messing around the lab one day and came up with that little lifesaver."

"It was Professor Snape's formula, wasn't it?" Harry asked. A small smile on his lips, just thinking about how many people were saved by the man they probably loathed.

Healer Pye also smiled and looked at Harry. "The letter didn't have his handwriting, but it was he who had invented the original antidote when Mr. Weasley had gotten bitten." Running a hand over his face to rub off the sleep he said, "Professor Snape was bloody brilliant. He patented a lot of potions before all of this craziness had started. He could have been a great Master Healer."

Both men fell into a silence, thinking about the Potions master. Harry felt pride in having had the chance to be taught by the man. He regretted now calling Snape a coward, when it was farthest from the truth. Snape had risked being reviled as a spy just to help others who thought him a traitor.

All of a sudden, there was a bright flash of light behind them. Once it died away both men turned around to find the source of the bright flash and were shocked.

"Isn't that Professor Dumbledore's phoenix?" Pye asked.

"Fawkes!" Harry said as he stared at the phoenix in disbelief. Looking at the bird's bright red feathers, he remembered the feather that they had found in the Shrieking Shack when they had gone to find Snape's body. Walking closer to the phoenix, Harry said, "Fawkes, do you know where Professor Snape is? Is he alive?"

Fawkes nodded and raised his wings to fly. When he was over Harry's head he stuck out a leg. Without giving it another thought, Harry took hold of Healer Pye with one hand and with the other hand grabbed Fawkes' leg. With another flash of light they were gone.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer- Don't own it, don't own it. Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to the amazing mind that is J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them for a bit._

A/N- *Looks around for an angry mob* So....yeah, I'm still very much alive. I know it's been forever since I last updated this story. The only excuse I have is that college out of no where became very busy. But! At least I haven't forgotten this story.

I just have to say how awesome you guys are for still sticking to this story, even though I know it's not the best. I'm amaze at all the alerts it still gets and faves. Every time I see that someone has put this story on their alerts it makes me a very happy camper. This chapter isn't very long but I do hope it makes up for the long wait. And don't worry I'm almost done with this story. I have like three chapters left to it so if any of you want to see something in the coming chapters just let me know and I'll see if I can incorporated into the following chapters or in the epilogue.

And with that I would like to thank my lovely beta debjunk for her amazing help with this chapter. Trust me if it wasn't for her help half of the things I wrote wouldn't even make sense. So I'll just shut up now so you can read the newest chapter. Enjoy!!!

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_Previously in chapter four:_

_"Fawkes!" Harry said as he stared at the phoenix in disbelief. Looking at the bird's bright red feathers, he remembered the feather that they had found in the Shrieking Shack when they had gone to find Snape's body. Walking closer to the phoenix, Harry said, "Fawkes, do you know where Professor Snape is? Is he alive?"_

_Fawkes nodded and raised his wings to fly. When he was over Harry's head he stuck out a leg. Without giving it another thought, Harry took hold of Healer Pye with one hand and with the other hand grabbed Fawkes' leg. With another flash of light they were gone._

_ooooOoooo_

Tobias was pacing his room, wondering where that blasted bird had gone off to. It had been a little after the bird had left that Doctor Marcus had returned. And this time something was off about the doctor. Tobias was left with a feeling of dread after the doctor had left. To him it seemed that Doctor Marcus had been disappointed that Severus was still alive. Severus still had a fever, and Tobias was sure that it kept rising, though when he mentioned it to the doctor, the man had just brushed it off as something that was very common. It was then that he had noticed things he had missed when the doctor had first arrived to help Severus. There was certainty anger in the man's eyes.

For that Tobias was worried. When Severus had arrived he hadn't thought about taking precaution against magical people. He had no idea if the doctor was a wizard who had recognized Severus and was planning something sinister. That's why Tobias wanted that blasted bird to return, and hopefully he would return with help. Though how a bird was suppose to know who to trust was beyond him.

Just as he was fixing the covers to the bed that Severus was lying on, there was a sudden flash coming from the corridor. Tobias quickly made his way outside the room to check if the bird had come back. Sure enough as he stood in the doorway he saw the bird perched on one of the dinning chairs. In front of him there were two bodies. "This better be the help that I wanted and not more bodies to take care of!" Tobias said to the bird.

The bird just cocked his head to one side as if to say, _"Well, duh, this is help."_ He then lifted his head in stubborn pride.

Ignoring the tactics of the walking pillow case, Tobias cautiously made his way to the small closet across from his room and pulled out a cricket bat. He didn't know how much a use the bat would be against magical people, but it was the next best thing to using a gun. He watched as the two bodies began to sit up, praying that they would be able to help Severus more than the doctor had.

ooooOoooo

Harry took a moment to shake off the dizziness he felt in his head. He wondered how Dumbledore had been able to travel that way when he made his escape from Fudge three years ago. Once the dizziness was gone he sat up and rubbed the arm he had fallen on. Looking around, Harry noticed that they were in a Muggle home. Helping the young Healer that was next to him up, Harry asked, "You all right, Healer Pye?"

"Harry, please, call me Augustus. And, yes, I'm fine. How about you?"

"Just a little dizzy." Locking eyes with the phoenix, Harry couldn't help but feel like strangling the bird. "Fawkes! You were suppose to take us to where Professor Snape is. Not some random Muggle home!"

"Did you say Professor Snape?" A voice from behind them asked.

Harry quickly turned around with his wand at hand ready to fight. Expecting Death Eater or Snatchers he wasn't quite sure how to react when he found himself looking at an older version of the Potions master. "Who are you?"

"It's my home, boy. So, I'm the one who's going to be asking the questions here! Who are you? What do you want?"

There was a long silence between the two as each waited for an answer to their question. Harry finally lowered his wand and put both of his hands palm-up so that the older man could see that he could trust them. "My name is Harry Potter, and this is my friend Augustus Pye. We're looking for Severus Snape." Looking closer at the man in front of them he asked, "Your Tobias Snape, aren't you?"

"What do you want with Severus?" Tobias asked without bothering to answer the boy's question.

"We just want to help him, sir." Harry said. Grabbing Augustus by an arm he pulled the scared Healer closer to Tobias. "Look, my friend here, he's a Healer...a doctor. I know what happened to Professor Snape, and I just want to make sure that he's okay."

Tobias didn't bother to listen to anything else the young boy was getting ready to say. He quickly took hold of the Healer and dragged him to were Severus was. "Start healing, you." Tobias said as he gave the Healer a push inside the room. Turning around to get the other boy, Tobias was taken by surprise to see the boy was already standing behind him. "Well," Tobias snapped at the boy. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to help your friend?"

Harry quickly stepped inside the room and started to help out Augustus clean the room. Seeing that Harry was cleaning everything that he was going to need, Augustus started casting diagnostic spells on his former professor. "Augustus?" Harry asked.

"From the looks of things he was able to take the antidote, but I'm still going to give him another dose since there are still traces of the venom in his system." Looking at Severus' neck Augustus noticed the many stitches that adorned the man's neck. "Mr. Snape? Did you have a Muggle healer come in?"

"Yes, Doctor Marcus. He's my neighbor, when that damn bird brought Sev in I didn't think that it was a good idea to call an ambulance. So, I asked the Doctor to come to the house. Why? Did he do something bad?"

"No, nothing bad. I just have to be sure it's a Muggle's work I'm dealing with here." Seeing the confused look between both Harry and Tobias, he explained. "I have to make sure that these stitches weren't done with any magic. If they are, then some of the potions that I have to use would reach badly to whatever magic is in the stitches. But since I know it's just a regular Muggle who did these then all I have to worry about is not opening the wound too much."

"So, with your power he is going to get better right?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Snape, I know what I'm doing. Besides, most of these potions were your son's creations. His are the best anyone could ask for."

Tobias watched as the two men worked carefully to fully heal his son. He was so grateful for once that Severus had been born a wizard. He looked at all the phials that the young healer had taken out and wondered what each one was suppose to do.

Harry noticed that Tobias was trying to read the labels on the phials. Pointing to the red one her said, "That one is a Blood-Replenishing potion, the bluish one is Pain Reliever, and I have no idea what the green one is." Turning to Augustus he asked, "What's the green potion for? There's no label on it."

Not bothering to look at the potion Harry was holding out, Augustus continued to carefully remove the stitches from Severus' neck. "The green potion is actually the Venom Antidote. The one Professor Snape send me last year."

Nodding his head, Harry picked up one of the phials to look at. Looking at the labels, he recognized the handwriting immediately. "Augustus? How did you get these? This isn't your hand writing."

Blushing, Augustus said, "Yes, I know that, Harry. One of the other Healers didn't pack enough potions when we got the call to go to Hogwarts. So, I sneaked into the dungeons and went to Professor Snape's private store room."

"He's going to have your head when he finds out. But don't worry, I'll make sure you have a proper funeral."

"Ha ha, Harry, very funny. Stop making stupid jokes, and hand me the clear liquid phial please."

"What does the clear one do?" Tobias asked. To him it looked like water and nothing else.

"This little fellow," Harry said as he passed the phial to Augustus. " Helps clean wounds. I guess it's like rubbing alcohol but magical, since it's made from herbs and not whatever it is Muggles use." With a sigh Harry said to himself, "The one time I could prove that I did pay attention in class, and he's knocked out."

"Harry, hold his head please. It's going to sting, and if he moves too much, he'll start bleeding again," Augustus instructed.

Before Harry could more to the other side of the bed, Tobias quickly stood and placed both hands gently on Severus' head. He watched as the young healer carefully poured the clear liquid to clean the wound. As soon as the liquid made contact with the skin, Severus began to squirm, but Tobias made sure that his son didn't move too much.

It took almost twenty minutes for Augustus to finish his job. There were times that he would ask Harry to help him out, but Tobias would always insist on doing it himself. The time when he would allow Harry to help was when it required magic. When they were finally finished Harry and Augustus both collapsed against the wall and slid to the floor. Tobias gently wiped Severus face with a damped cloth and then tucked the covers around his son.

All three men remained in silence for a couple of minutes until snickering could be heard coming from the one of the two young men. Tobias looked up and saw Augustus trying not to laugh. Raising an eyebrow he asked, "And may I inquire as to what is so funny?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Augustus said while trying to control himself. "It's just that I've always heard horror stories from other Healers who've had to attend to your son. Even the Healer that works at the same school as your son once told me that there were times she had a difficult time getting the Professor to stay still even after a bad injury. If she were to find out how easy it was for me to heal the Professor, she'd probably have a fit."

Tobias instead of smiling, frowned upon hearing what the young man had said. "What do you mean 'there were times'? You mean to tell me that this isn't the first time my boy has been injured like this?!"

* * *

A/N- Please Review! I'd love to know what your thoughts on this latest chapter. : D


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer- I don't own this. My mind would have never been able to come up with something as amazing as Harry Potter. The real owner of Potterverse is J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little bit.

_A/N- Well, hi there! Long time no see. I'm so happy that I'm still getting story alerts and reviews for this story. It makes me really happy. So I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Please review once you are done. I would love to hear from all of you! Thanks to my beta dubjunk for looking at this. Truly a wonderful person. _

* * *

It had been a couple of hours since anyone had seen Harry. Most of the injured were now at St. Mungo's, and those who were healed quickly were sent home to rest and mourn. The Ministry was done making a body count of the dead and the injured. The captured Death Eaters were being escorted to Azkaban to wait for their trial.

The Weasley family, along with Hermione, were in the Headmaster's office. Molly was anxiously pacing the room. Arthur was seated in one of the chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk. Minerva was seated across from him. The rest of the Weasley's and Hermione were standing around the office, waiting for news about Harry.

"Oh, this is all my fault!" Molly said as she buried her face in her hand. "I shouldn't have snapped at him the way I did. I should have listen to him. It's all my fault!"

Arthur looked at his wife with tired eyes. She had been saying the same thing over and over again for the past hour they had been there. He was tired, both physically and mentally. There was nothing more he could say to Molly to make her understand that she wasn't at fault. He decided that the best thing to do was to let her keep pacing and wait till Kingsley returned with news.

Just then, Kingsley arrived with two other Aurors at his side. Minerva, who had been nursing a hot cup of tea, quickly got up from her chair and made her way to Kingsley. "What news do you have? Is Harry all right? Where is he?"

"Minerva," Kingsley said as he raised his hand to silence her and the rest of the people in the room. "We searched the grounds and could not find any trace of Harry. It also seems as if Healer Augustus Pye is also missing. According to several witnesses, Harry was last seen with Healer Pye at the top of the Astronomy tower."

"Do you think Pye is actually a Death Eater?" Ron asked.

Hermione, who had been standing near Ron smacked him on the back of his head. "Honestly, Ronald! Healer Pye couldn't possibly be a Death Eater," she sharply said.

"Yeah? How do you know? No one here really knows Pye. For all we know he could be torturing Harry this minute!"

"RON!" Molly was now near hysterics at Ron's words. Bill walked pass his youngest brother and put an arm around his mother's shaking shoulders.

"Mum, don't listen to Ronnie. You know how wild his imagination is."

"Ron," Kingsley said when he noticed that an argument was about to start between the two siblings. "Even if Augustus was a Death Eater there is no possible way he would be able to harm Harry in any way. All Healers are required to make a vow after they graduate. As long as they call themselves Healers and are under 's contract, they cannot harm anyone unless it's in self defense. We believe that they were taken, but by who and how is not clear yet."

"Did you find anything in the Astronomy Tower?" Percy asked.

"Actually we did find something." At this everyone turned their full attention at the dark Auror. Molly not being able to stand the silence launched herself at him. With a handful of his robes she shook him.

"What did you find?" She demanded.

"Molly! Please, calm yourself. I can't tell you anything if you're strangling me!" Both Hermione and Fleur took Molly by the arms and pulled the red-haired witch away from Kingsley. "Molly, I know you're worried about Harry; we all are. But please it's no use to us if you work yourself into hysterics."

With what looked like a forced nod. Molly sat down in the other vacant seat next to Arthur.

"Thank you," Kingsley said. "Now, as I was saying, we did find something, but I'm not entirely sure it'll help us find Harry." He turned around and asked for something from one of the Aurors. Turning around he saw Hermione gasp as he held the object up.

"Kingsley," Hermione said stepping closer to the man. "When we went to get Professor Snape's body there was a Phoenix feather too. Do you think there is a connection?"

"It is possible, Hermione." Moving around the Headmaster's desk, Kingsley came to stand in front of Dumbledore's portrait. "Albus, could this possibly be Fawkes we are talking about?"

"It could be," Albus said. "But I'm not entirely sure."

"Is there any way to contact Fawkes? Could you summon him?" Minerva asked.

Albus was silent for a couple of minutes pondering the question. The whole room was tense as everyone waited for the old man's answer. "I'm...afraid there isn't," Albus replied. "My link with Fawkes was broken the night I died."

Upon hearing this, the occupants of the room didn't bother to hide their disappointment. Hermione began pacing, which everyone one knew meant that she was trying to think of something that could help them find Harry. When she finally got an idea, she walked up to Dumbledore's portrait, standing next to Kingsley. "Have you tried a tracking spell, Kingsley?"

"Actually, yes, we have. Several of them, too. But we didn't get anything."

"So, using something that Harry's had close contact with recently isn't going to help us, is it?"

"I'm afraid not. He must be somewhere un-plottable."

"What about Fawkes' feather? Could that be used to trace him?"

Dumbledore's portrait shook his head sadly at the question. "Fawkes," he stated, "has the ability to make himself untraceable. I'm afraid you're going to have to find other means to find Harry and Healer Pye."

oooOooo

"So," Tobias said as he paced between the two men and his son's bed. "You're telling me that Severus was a spy for some old coot because another old coot was trying to re-create a Holocaust?"

"Yes," Augustus and Harry replied at the same time.

"And this other coot would at times torture his followers, and because Severus was suppose to be playing spy for the bad guys, if he didn't have enough information to give to Volmerton then he would be tortured to the point where he was barely conscious?"

"Yes."

"What else?"

"Then your son was forced to make an Unbreakable vow and was made to kill Dumbledore. But Dumbledore had also forced your son to make a Unbreakable Vow to make sure that he continued to help me destroy Tom Riddle," Harry said.

From there Augustus took over. "Then last night there was a battle at Hogwarts. Harry here, defeated you-...Tom Riddle. And then we were brought here by Fawkes."

Tobias took a seat at the edge of the bed and ran a hand down his tired faced. That was a lot of information for him to take in, and he couldn't help but feel guilty. Had he been a responsible adult and father, Severus would have never gotten into all that craziness, and he wouldn't be trying to heal from a snake bite that nearly tore his head off.

Both Harry and Augustus stood from the floor. Their legs were falling asleep, and they knew that would be very painful if they ignored it. Augustus began to shake his legs awake, and Harry followed suit. "Mr. Snape? Sir, may I ask a sort of personal question?"

Tobias tore his gaze from his son to look at the young wizard in front of him. "Sure, kid. 'long as it's not too personal."

"Well, sir," Harry started as he shifted from foot to foot. "Why are you so worried about the Professor now? I thought you hated him."

Tobias gave a slight sigh as he rubbed his eyes again. "I never hater my son, boy. I was afraid of him. He had a power I didn't have and didn't understand. It was the fear of the unknown that ruled the way I treated my son. But, I'm not like that anymore. I know better now. I'm going to apologize to my son and show him how much I truly care for him when he wakes up and gets better."

Before Harry could say anything a cold voice filled the room. "Aw...how sickening. Too bad your son is never going to get better. _CRUCIO_!"

* * *

A/N- Mwahahahahahahaha! Please Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer- I wished upon a star and got a laptop. So trust me when I say, I DON'T own the Potteverse. J. K. Rowling owns all the characters and places.

_A/N- Can you say update? Haha...yeah that's right you're eyes do not deceive you. This is indeed a new chapter. And with that I would like to let you guys that know that this story is slowly coming to an end. There are three more chapters and a possible epilogue. Chapter eight is in the process of making it's way from my notebook to my beta. So I hope you will continue to read this till the very end._

_Thank you to my beta debjunk for looking over this and her priceless advice. Now, I present to you chapter 7. Enjoy!_

* * *

Something was wrong.

Severus could feel Dark magic in the air around him. He forced his eyes open and was surprised to find himself being held by the last person he could think of, his father.

"Dad?" His voice cracked at the strain his throat took when Nagini bit him.

"Hush, Severus. Don't move."

Shouts could be heard somewhere in another room. Severus looked around where he was laying against his father's chest. From the looks of it, they were in a basement. They were under stone stairs. The room was cold and damp, with the only light coming from the small window on the opposite side on the room.

"What's. Going. On?" Severus managed to ask.

"Dark Wizards. But don't worry; those two boys will handle everything."

Severus felt something nudge his hand and saw a red phoenix looking at him. "Fawkes," Severus said in a whisper. "Go. Get. Help. Kingsley."

The bird gave a small cry before he raised his wings and disappeared with a small flash.

"Severus, stay quiet, and don't move. I don't want you to get hurt," Tobias said as he held Severus closer to himself.

Suddenly, the door at the top of the stairs was thrown off its hinges, tumbling down the stairs. Tobias watched as the door was slowly consumed by flames. A cold laugh could be heard at the top of the stairs followed by footsteps.

"Oh, Mr. Snape," the voice sang. "Can Severus come out and play?"

Severus felt his blood run cold at the sound of the voice. Lestrange. _'If Lestrange is here, then that could only mean one thing," _Severus thought. _"Potter, he failed. The Dark Lord won.'_

"Sev, come out to play. I know some neat games. My dear wife Bellatrix taught me some."

Severus and Tobias both knew that if they were caught, "Play time" would be the last thing either of them ever did.

"Come now, Severus," Lestrange said. "You can't hide forever. You have to pay for what you did, you traitor."

Shouts could still be heard from upstairs. Whoever was fighting was now moving the fight closer to the basement. Several hexes were making their way down the stairs. Laughter could be heard from upstairs too. Letting Severus know that both brothers where there.

"You know, you really had us all fooled, Snape. Well, except for sweet Bella. That crazy bitch actually knew what she was talking about when she voiced her concern over your loyalties. Too bad the Dark Lord found out about your deception _after _he had set his pet on you. Could you imagine what he would have done to you had he found out before his encounter with Potter? I'm sure he wouldn't have been as merciful as to let Nagini take care of you."

Tobias wanted to laugh. If what had happened to his boy was merciful, he didn't want to know what was unmerciful. He couldn't help but hold Severus tighter, afraid of the man finding them. There really was no way for him to find them. But if they were discovered, he just hoped that the bird would soon arrive with help.

"There's no point in hiding. I can play 'cat and mouse' all day long. I can assure you both, neither one of you is leaving this house…well alive that is."

"_POTTER!"_

Severus was now more confused than ever. Not only was he trying to figure out how Lestrange had found him. But apparently the Potter boy was alive too? If the information Albus had given him a year ago was true, then by all means Potter should be dead. _'Does this mean that the Dark Lord is also alive?'_ Looking at his left arm he saw that the Dark Mark was no longer there. _'What happened?'_

A set of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. From a small gap between two boxes, Tobias was able to make out Doctor Marcus. Now everything fell into place. Why the doctor had looked angry the first time he had set eyes on Severus. And the obvious disappointment when hours later Severus was still alive.

"Brother, where are they?"

"Hiding like the Snakes they are. What are you doing here, you idiot?"

"Well, it's not like I'm much help to our brother with those two."

A loud slap could be heard as Rodolphus struck the doctor across the face. "_Don't _you dare speak to me like that you squib."

"Yes, brother."

Listening, Severus tried to figure out who the new person was. As far as he knew there had only been two Lestrage brothers, so who was this man? Tilting his head back, he saw his father's angry face. Tapping his father on the shoulder he managed to his attention and signaled to make eye contact. With a silent incantation of Legilimency he was in his father's mind.

"_Severus? Do I want to know?"_

"_Sorry, but it's easier to communicate this way."_

"_Right."_

"_Do you know who that man is?"_

"_Yes, his said his name is Doctor Marcus, Steven Marcus. But I'm guessing that's not his real name. Who's the other psycho?"_

"_Rodolphus Lestrange. Dad, who's upstairs besides the other Lestrange brother?"_

"_A boy name Harry and a Healer, Augustus you know them? They say you were their Professor."_

"_Harry Potter was one of my students, yes. And so was Pye."_

"_Well then, if they were your students, then there's nothing to worry about. I'm sure they'll take care of everything."_

ooooOoooo

Severus was only able to keep the connection for a couple of minutes. When he cut the connection he was sweating and was trying to catch his breath. That much magic had taken too much out of him.

He really hoped that Potter's dueling skills had improved during the year the boy had been on the run from the Dark Lord.

He was sure that the Granger girl had taught Potter and Weasley some defensive spells. The Golden Trio's escape from Malfoy manor had been impressive. Not all of the details were given, but from what the Carrows had heard, Wormtail had been killed and half of the parlor destroyed. Their break into Gringrott's was also nothing to sneer at. Not even Quirell, with the Dark Lord on the back of his head, could have done what they did.

"SNAPE! You filthy half-blood! Come out and fight me like a man!"

Severus felt his father's arms hold him tighter. He wished he would have told Fawkes to take his father with him. There was no reason why the man had to die when he knew nothing of what had happened the last eighteen years.

"Augustus!" The sudden shout brought the occupants of the basement to look up as if they would be able to see through the ceiling. Severus was sure that had been Potter's voice. "You bastard! If he's dead, I'll kill you!"

Cruel laughter could be heard; apparently Rabastan cared little for Potter's threats. His cruel laughter was soon followed by Rodolphus. "Well, well, well, it seems like it's just Potter and Rab. I wonder who will win."

Severus could feel his father shaking with anger. Frankly, he didn't blame him. Augustus had always been a model, if not clumsy, student. If he was dead, then the wizarding world had just lost a good healer.

"That bastard. He's going to pay for that," Tobias whispered.

"Snape. If you come out right now, I might spare your father's life. I would offer the Healer's, but I think he's dead." More laughter followed. It seemed to Severus that Rodolphus had finally hit the same level of sanity as Bellatrix.

_Please review! Thank you!_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer- Guess what? I. Don't. Own. Harry. Potter. Yeah, it's true. I don't. But do you know who does? J. K. Rowling does.

_A/N- I feel like I'm updating too fast. What do you guys think? _

_Anyhow, we are near then end. It's hard for me to believe that I've been working on this story for a year now. It's insane. But I want to thank all of you who have reviewed, put this story on alert and favorite. Two more chapters are left along with an epilogue. _

_Thank you to my amazing beta debjunk for catching all those mistakes that seem to hide from me when I look the story over._

**_Warning:_** There will be some disturbing/dark scenes from now on. I will try to keep it at a minimum but there are somethings that just have to happen. You have been warned.

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Harry looked at the limp body of Augustus. The Healer's shield had been too weak to block the attack from Rabastan. It had torn the shield down and sent Augustus flying across the house until he hit the chimney. Harry had screamed his name out in hopes that the young man would get up, but he didn't move, and Harry feared he was dead.

Anger swelled up inside of him. It wasn't fair. Hadn't they fought enough? Had he not scarified himself so his friends wouldn't die? "You bastard! If he's dead, I'll kill you!"

All he got back as an answer was laughter. He could her Rodolphus laughing down in the basement, too. Both of them were going to pay. Harry wasn't going to let them hurt the Snapes, and he would get revenge for Augustus.

Getting an idea, he pointed his wand at the floor in front of the counter he had been hiding behind and whispered, "Aguamenti." Once he was sure that the floor was covered in water he cast another spell, making the floor freeze over completely. After making sure that Rabastan was still hiding near the door way of the kitchen, Harry took off from his hiding place and made a run towards the basement.

**xxxxXxxxx**

Rabastan saw Harry move and started to shoot hexes at him. When he couldn't get a good shot, he move into the kitchen and slipped on the floor hitting the stove face first.

Growling he got up and cast Incendio on the ice, causing the kitchen to flood. He could hear footsteps and knew that the boy was now in the sitting room. Casting a Disillusionment charm on himself, he made his way slowly to the sitting room. He was tired of playing games and wanted the boy dead. Once the brat was done with, he could move down to the basement and help his brother kill the Snapes. Snape Jr. needed to die for betraying the Dark Lord, and Snape Sr. needed to die for being a Muggle. Muggles were useless, and if the Dark Lord hadn't died, then they would have been terminated before the end of the year.

**XxxxXxxxx**

When Harry had made it to the basement door, he saw Rabastan sliding across the kitchen floor and jumped on the counter top and into the dining room. Just as he entered the dining room he heard a loud clank and hoped that it had hurt. Making his way to the sitting room he cast a Disillusionment charm and hid behind one of the couches.

Waiting for the man to come and search for him, Harry took a quick glance at Augustus. The Healer still hadn't moved, and there was now a small puddle of blood around his head. Harry felt a slight stinging at his eyes and closed them, taking in a deep breath. He had to focus on defeating Rabastan and the man's brother. Once he did that, the wards that surrounded the house would fall, and he would be able to Apparate them to Hogwarts.

But for now no one was getting in or out. He just hoped Augustus was still alive and that the Snapes were as well.

**xxxxXxxxx**

Rabastan cautiously looked inside the sitting room. He couldn't see the brat anywhere. The only body was that of the idiot Healer. The fool thought a mere Shielding Spell could block his attack. He was sure he was dead. If not, then he was on the verge of death.

Deciding on staying behind the doorway, he started to talk. "Potter, it's your fault your friend is dead. If you hadn't been too preoccupied on protecting yourself and not your friend, he would still be alive."

He was going to rile the brat up. He, like the rest of the world, knew that the boy loved to save people. If he could get him to feel guilty enough, then he would lose all control and try to attack him. That's when he would take his shot and finish this game of cat and mouse.

"It's your fault that the Snapes are probably being tortured as we speak. You could have gone down at any moment and rescued them. But here you are, trying to protect yourself. What a coward you are."

Still the room remained quiet. But he knew he had struck a chord. He could feel the atmosphere of the room changing. The boy was having a hard time controlling his emotions. Soon he would slip, and it would all be over.

**xxxxXxxxx**

Harry felt his whole body stiffen as he heard Rabastan's voice. He couldn't see anyone, which meant that the psycho was also using a Disillusionment charm, but he wasn't in the same room as Harry. He was somewhere else, hiding.

He listened as he started to tell him that it was his fault that Augustus was dead. He tried to block him off, but he was getting mad. He knew those things weren't true, but at that moment it was hard not to believe them. His anger was starting to make his head hurt. He wanted to finish the bastard.

Looking once again at Augustus' body, he sent a silent sorry to the Healer. Sorry for not being able to protect him. Sorry for dragging him to that place when he had nothing to do with the Death Eaters.

His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the Healer's head slowly rise. But the way in which the body was moving was odd. Almost as if strings were attached to his limbs. With a sickening lurch of his stomach, Harry knew what was going on. Augustus wasn't the one moving. Someone else was controlling his body.

For the first time in his life Harry saw red. His magic reacting to his feelings and his thoughts.

The occupants of the basement were quiet as they tried to listen to the goings on of the people upstairs. Everything was quiet for a minute before a loud bang ran throughout the house, shaking the foundation so much it felt like an earthquake.

"Bloody hell," the doctor voiced. "What was that?"

"Go check on Rab," Rodolphus ordered. When the doctor made no signs of moving, Rodolphus shoved him with a stinging jinx. "Go, you filth!"

The sound of running reached the ears of Severus and Tobias, letting them know that the third brother was making his way upstairs. Silence surrounded them once again while they waited for the doctor to return. They didn't wait long as they heard the sound of the man's footsteps returning.

"He's dead!" The doctor said with shaken voice.

From the small gap behind the boxes where they were hiding, Tobias was able to see the two brothers. The one he knew as Doctor Marcus looked as if he was about to faint. He wondered what he could have seen to shake him up so. The man was a doctor after all. He should be used to seeing gruesome sights.

A sinister smile graced Rodolphus face upon the doctor's report. "Good, I didn't think Rab would be stupid enough to lose….."

"NO!" The doctor screamed. "It isn't the Potter brat that's dead. It's Rab! How could he lose to that boy?"

A loud smack rang through the basement as Rodolphus struck his brother. "Are you positive it's Rab?"

"Y-yes…the body is nothing but charcoal, but the family ring was on its finger."

"Dammit! Potter!"

Severus wondered what spell the Potter boy had cast to do that to such a strong Dark wizard. Was it possible that help had arrived and someone from the Order had been the one to finish Rabastan off? Either way, now the Lestrange brothers were outnumbered. He was positive the doctor had as much magical power as a rock. He now knew why no one had known a third brother existed. If the man was a Squib, then the family would have been too embarrassed to let the wizarding community know. It would tarnish their pure-blood reputation. The man as a child must have been given to another squib family to be raised. They must have felt some emotion towards him if his brothers knew about him. Sometimes, once the child was given off, it was forgotten.

But Severus didn't care if the Lestrages cared or not about their brother. His main focus right now was to try and replenish what little magic he still had in case he had to fight. He needed it to protect his father. Even though the man had hated him as a child, he knew that was not the case now. He just hoped he wouldn't have to fight. He could trust Potter to take care of things. The boy was strong enough to take Rodolpus on.

_Please Review! Thanks._


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: -Le gasp!- I do not own Harry Potter and all it's characters? How utterly none shocking this piece of information is! _

_A/N - Wow, it has been way too long since I last updated this little one. And I'll warn you all, the next update will not be any time in the near future, sorry. I have too much work with college, in fact right now I should be reading so I can take a quiz. XD_

_I really do appreciate all of you who have read this story and have stuck with it till now. I see two more chapters before the end comes. So thank you to all of you who made it possible for this story to become what it is today. _

_A big thanks for debjunk for being the best beta there is in the world and also to Scarlet Sparkle for taking a look at this for some brit picking. Thank you! _

**_Warning:_** There will be some disturbing/dark scenes from now on. I will try to keep it at a minimum but there are somethings that just have to happen. You have been warned.

* * *

_Previously in chapter 8:_

_"Y-yes…the body is nothing but charcoal, but the family ring was on its finger."_

_"Dammit! Potter!"_

_Severus wondered what spell the Potter boy had cast to do that to such a strong Dark wizard. Was it possible that help had arrived and someone from the Order had been the one to finish Rabastan off? Either way, now the Lestrange brothers were outnumbered. He was positive the doctor had as much magical power as a rock. He now knew why no one had known a third brother existed. If the man was a Squib, then the family would have been too embarrassed to let the wizarding community know. It would tarnish their pure-blood reputation. The man as a child must have been given to another squib family to be raised. They must have felt some emotion towards him if his brothers knew about him. Sometimes, once the child was given off, it was forgotten._

_But Severus didn't care if the Lestrages cared or not about their brother. His main focus right now was to try and replenish what little magic he still had in case he had to fight. He needed it to protect his father. Even though the man had hated him as a child, he knew that was not the case now. He just hoped he wouldn't have to fight. He could trust Potter to take care of things. The boy was strong enough to take Rodolpus on._

**Chapter 9**

The stench of something foul being burned was the first thing to assault his senses. It was so strong there was nowhere for him to escape it. In turn, his stomach spilled what little food it had. Opening his eyes, Harry could only see smoke all around him. He couldn't remember sending any _Incendio_ charms or anything exploding.

Slowly getting up from his hiding place behind the couch, he tried to make out the form of Rabastan. The sight that met his eyes was the last thing he was expecting. Near the kitchen was what he guessed to be the body of Rabastan. The body was curled up, almost into itself. What could be made out as his arms and hands were twisted. The most distinguished feature was his expression; jaw slacked as in a silent scream. It was obvious that the man had died in excruciating agony. Now, what had been the body of a powerful Death Eater was nothing more than a log of charcoal. Harry was sure that a small breeze would blow the ashes away.

Running steps turned his attention from the body. Someone was coming from the basement, and he doubted it was one of the Snapes. Re-casting his Disillusionment charm, he moved away from the burnt body and held his wand, ready to fight whoever came through the door.

Waiting, he saw the door knob slowly twist and the door opening. Two frightened eyes scanned the room before falling on the body laying on the floor. Crouching down, the man slowly made his way to the body. Harry wondered if he would think it was his. Noticing that something caught the man's eyes, Harry followed and saw that the man was looking at a ring that had belonged to Rabastan.

'Goblin made,' Harry thought. That would be the only reason why the ring didn't burn either.

The man, looking paler than before, quickly made his way back to the door. Harry was half tempted to follow him but thought better of it. He didn't know who else was in the basement besides the Snapes and Rodolphus.

Just as he was thinking about what to do, he heard running footsteps once again. This time the man didn't even stop to check if there was anyone there and took off towards the back garden

Harry knew that this meant that whoever was controlling the magic was letting the wards down so that the man could escape. He knew he only had one chance – if he missed, then there would be no chances of sending for help. Tackling the man down as he opened the door, Harry immediately cast a stunning charm.

"Harry?"

Looking up, Harry saw the one person he knew that would be able to help him. "Kingsley."

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

"So, little Harry Potter actually knows how to fight. Interesting."

Severus was steadily keeping his eyes on Rodolphus' form, as the man paced between the burnt stairs and the wall. One minute of distraction could mean the end for him and his father. That was not something that he was willing to risk.

"Tell me, Severus," Rodolphus said. "What do you think has kept me from blasting every single item in this room and just killing you? I am the one with a wand. You, on the other hand, have nothing. You were barely alive when my idiot of a brother saw to your injuries. I highly doubt you could have recovered so fast to gather enough energy to duel me."

There was no answer. All that filled the basement was the sound of footsteps making a steady beat. _'Tap, Tap, Tap," _back and forth. It was almost hypnotizing, but at the same time it sounded like the steady sound of a clock's hands as time ticked away, a clock which had the lives of two men in its grasp. _'Tick-tock, Tick-tock.'_

"You know, had you stayed true to our Master, you would have had it all," said Rodolphus. His tone was that of a old friend giving advice. "Power, isn't that what you wanted? For people to stop trying to walk all over you? To get back at people like Black and Potter for making your life at Hogwarts a living hell. And now here you hide like a rat, spending more than half your life protecting the son of your childhood enemy."

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

"Harry, what on earth is going on?" Kingsley asked. He had arrived in front of what he had thought to be just another Muggle neighbourhood. That was, until he saw a man rush out the back door of one of the houses, followed by the-boy-who-couldn't-stay-out-of-trouble.

Looking at the young man whom he had just witness tackle another person to the ground, Kingsley didn't know what to think. The boy looked even worse than when he had been fighting Tom Riddle. There was blood on his robes, and he had a huge slash across his torso. His hands looked red as if he had left them too close to the fire while trying to warm up.

"Kingsley, help me with this idiot. He knows things, and I need to know what," said Harry.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

"Ring a ring o' roses, a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, the Snapes die now!" The hysterical laughter of the man that was keeping them captive sent chills down Tobias' spine. How the man could still put two coherent sentences together was impressive, in his opinion. It didn't seem like at any moment he would just throw away his wand and apologize for breaking in and trying to kill them.

"Have you ever heard that rhyme, Severus?" Rodolphus asked. "I've heard Muggle children singing it while they play. Pity they don't know what they are really singing. A song about death. A song about the pain people alive during the Black Plague felt...the pain I'll make the both of you feel..."

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

"Rennervate !" Kingsley said as he pointed at the chest of the man whom Harry had tackled. Both men watched the other as he became alert of his surroundings. Panic filled his eyes as he realized that he had not managed to escape. He tried to push Harry and Kingsley away but they held him down without much trouble. Before the man could start shouting, Kingsley petrified him.

When he saw that their captive wasn't going to be going anywhere, Kingsley turned to Harry and grasped him by the shoulders. "How did you get here? Where's Healer Pye?"

The young man closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. "I was at the Astronomy Tower talking with Augustus, when out of nowhere Fawkes shows up. When we took hold of his leg, he brought us here. Kingsley, Professor Snape is alive and Rodolphus Lestrange wants to kill him and Snape's dad."

"Where are they?"

"In the basement. We couldn't Apparate away when they attacked because they set up some strong wards. I didn't know what was going on because I was fighting Rabastan, so I told them to hide. Augustus stayed with me to fight, after a while Rabastan shot Augustus with some spell, he might be badly hurt but I think he he's dead." The last words came out in almost a whisper. It seemed like Harry didn't really want to believe it but thinking about all the blood he saw, he didn't think the young Healer had survived.

"Harry, go ahead and try getting to the basement," Kingsley said. "I can handle this guy and see to Augustus too.

Harry nodded his head and quickly made his way back into the house. He tried making a plan of action to rescue the Snapes, but so far all he could think about was running in and attacking Rodolphus. It was clean (well, not really) and simple (well, as simple as fighting a hysterical Death Eater could be). If he could beat Tom Riddle, then he could take on Rodolphus - right? He dearly hopedthathe could.

He wished he had been able to bring Hermione and Ron with him. Hermione would have had a plan within a minute, and he knew that Ron would cover his back without any problems.

Just as he was reaching the door to the basement he heard a blood curdling scream that made the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer - **Not the ruler of Harry Potter. I'm too poor to own it. _

_**A/N- **I cannot ask for enough forgiveness. I didn't even realize that it had been a year since I last updated this story. It's not much, but then again, we are very close to the end now. I hope that for those who are still following this story, that you enjoy this chapter. Thank you to everyone who has left a review, or put this story on alert and favorites. _

_A big thank you to my beta debjunk for being an amazing beta. _

_*****__Warning:_ There will be some disturbing/dark scenes from now on. I will try to keep it at a minimum but there are somethings that just have to happen. You have been warned.

* * *

_**Previously:**_

_"Harry, go ahead and try getting to the basement," Kingsley said. "I can handle this guy and see to Augustus too._

_Harry nodded his head and quickly made his way back into the house. He tried making a plan of action to rescue the Snapes, but so far all he could think about was running in and attacking Rodolphus. It was clean (well, not really) and simple (well, as simple as fighting a hysterical Death Eater could be). If he could beat Tom Riddle, then he could take on Rodolphus - right? He dearly hoped that he could.__  
_  
_He wished he had been able to bring Hermione and Ron with him. Hermione would have had a plan within a minute, and he knew that Ron would cover his back without any problems._

_Just as he was reaching the door to the basement he heard a blood curdling scream that made the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end._

**Chapter 10**

Hearing the hair-raising screams coming from the basement, Harry rushed to the room and failed to see that there weren't any stairs. His heart dropped to his stomach as the floor was suddenly pulled away from beneath him. The fall was short, but he hit several boxes that were skewed all over the floor.

"POTTER!"

Before he knew it, Harry was thrown against the wall with so much force he knew he'd broken a rib or two. He saw small flashes of light in front of his eyes from having the air knocked out of him. Dimly, he thought he now knew what it was like to have Grawp kick you across Scotland.

"Well, well, well, gentlemen, do stand up. Don't you see that we have a visitor?"

His vision focusing, Harry wasn't able to stop the gasp that escaped his mouth. The scene that greeted his eyes was almost something out of a horror film he once saw Dudley and Uncle Vernon watching. There was a puddle of blood in front of Tobias as the older man held a knife in his hand. Harry could see a trickle of blood oozing out from Tobias' left shoulder. The older man was white as a sheet and was shaking uncontrollably. One look at his eyes told the whole story; he was under the Imperius curse and was trying with all his will power to throw it off himself.

Forcing himself to look away, Harry saw Severus Snape pinned to the wall the same way he was. Just like his father, Severus was also trying to fight against the spell holding him to the wall. Desperation was evident in his eyes as he tried time and time again to free himself and help his father, but due to his injuries from the final battle and obvious new ones from Rodolphus, he was still very weak. The scars that had been left after Agustus had healed the man were a vivid red against the pale skin of the Potions master.

Harry knew that Rodolphus was a powerful wizard, but he hadn't thought that he was strong enough to be casting an Unforgivable curse at the same time as hold him and the younger Snape in place. But if fighting Voldemort had taught him anything, it was that everyone had a weakness. It was just a matter of figuring out what it was.

Hopefully, Kingsley would find them and help him, but he didn't want to take any chances and wait for the Auror to appear.

XXXXxxxxXXXXX

His limbs felt like they were on fire; his heart pounded furiously against his ribcage and his head hurt like the worst of migraines. Tobias didn't know how long he was going to be able to keep fighting against the man who was trying to take away his will power. He had to get free, had to help Severus; he had to fulfil the promise he had made to his wife, Eileen, the day she had given birth to Severus. He simply had to protect his son from that mad man.

Even if he died, Tobias knew that as long as Severus was safe from all harm, he could go in peace.

"_Now, what else should I make you do?" Rodolphus' voice said inside his head. "Hmmm... Yes, this will do. Stab your leg, you worthless scum."_

He could feel his body trying to move without his consent. He was not going to let some psycho force him to continue to hurt himself. "No!" his mind screamed at the intruder. "Get out of my head!"

"_Do you think you stand a chance against me, you filth?"_

"You dare call me filth? When it's you who's attacking me, an old man, and my son who's hurt?"

"_Shut up! Shut up and obey me! I'm your master now, you must obey me and do as I say. Stab your leg! Do it, dammit!"_

"NO!"

XXXXxxxxXXXXX

Severus watched in horror as blood began to fall from his father's nose. He knew Tobias wasn't going to be able to fight the Imperius much longer or else he might fall into a coma. Even if it pained him to admit it, Rodolphus was a strong wizard, not to the level he himself was, but enough to make it difficult for the normal witch and wizard to defeat him in a regular duel. It was unfortunately just their luck that Rodolphus never played by the rules.

Then, there was Potter. The idiot had simply ran into the room without looking around to make sure it was safe. Severus was positive that his father's screams had scared the boy enough that the only thing passing through that thick head was to save them. Typical Potter behaviour, not to mention typical Gryffindor idiocy. Only a Gryffindor would simply rush into danger without any form of plan.

How the boy had defeated Tom Riddle was beyond Severus' imagination. If they ever were to make it all alive, then he would ask the boy how he had done it. Right now, he had to figure out a way to break Rodolphus' concentration. The less the man was focused on forcing the Imperius on Tobias, the more it gave the older man a better chance to break the spell and try to take down Rodolphus.

Even though Tobias was older, Severus knew he still could take anyone on in a physical battle. With all the pub fights Tobias used to get into, it would be amazing if he had never learned how to fight and defend himself. He was positive that Tobias needed just a few second to be able to take their unwanted visitor out. His father had always hated people who dropped by without invitation.

XXXXxxxxXXXXX

"_Pathetic! Look at you, you can barely withstand my superior power." _Rodolphus' voice, Tobias decided, was probably the most annoying thing he's ever heard. A feat he didn't think was possible considering all of the things he hated hearing while intoxicated. Even his wife, when she had had the courage to stand up to him, didn't sound as annoying as that psycho.

"Superior power?" he sneered. "Attacking someone who has no magic to fight back makes your power 'superior'? You're nothing but a coward."

Tobias' body seized up once again, as it fought against the control. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that both the boys had slid a couple of inches down from where they were being held. With a smirk that made Severus' look like an smile, he shouted, "COWARD!"

XXXXxxxxXXXXX

Severus stared in awe as his father began to shout all sorts of profanity at the craze Death Eater. He had to give it to his old man, some of the words he was using, Severus had never even heard. A slight graze on his back brought him to attention that he was slowly slipping down from where he was being held against the wall. His father was a genius! Perhaps, Severus allowed a smile of admiration grace his features, he hadn't received all of his smarts from just his mother.

His father had figured out how to, at the very least, distract Rodolphus from both Potter and him. It was really simple when one thought about it. Even though Rodolphus had been imprisoned for almost two decades, he still had the ego the same size as Lucius Malfoy, that is, the size it was before the war started.

It only made sense that the head of the Lestrange house would be insulted if someone, especially a Muggle, had the nerve to try and prove that he was absolutely worth.

Taking his gaze away from his father, he looked to where Potter was. Severus was glad that for once, the boy had the brains to figure out what was happening. For everything to work out, they were going to need all the luck they could get. Receiving a nod of confirmation from the boy, Severus turned back to look at where both his father and Rodolphus stood.

The insults were working, but they still weren't enough to completely distract Lestrange. Dimly, Severus thought back to when his mother wished he and his father would bond more often. He was pretty sure insulting a Death Eater was not something she had had in mind as a means to bond.

Oh well, it _was _going to get the job done.

"I've seen Muggle-borns cast better hexes than you, Lestrange!" Severus sneered at his former colleague.

He honestly hoped their plan would work.


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer - I don't own it! JK Rowling is the proud owner of Harry Potter. I'm just a poor gal, from a poor family..._

_A/N- Yes, I know, it's been forever since I've done an update for this and well, for many of my other stories. RL simply got busy for me but now the end of this story is near. I'm already working on the next chapter and will hopefully have it posted in a month. That's the best I can do, folks. Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck through with this story, I hope I do not disappoint._

_A big thank you to my beta wouldyouliketoseemymask for her amazing help in editing this chapter._

_And my final note, I now have a Facebook page, if you would like to get previews of chapters and stories that I am working on, make sure to like my page! I'll try to keep it active as much as possible. Just search for Slytherin Head, or head on over to my profile to find the link. Take care everyone and don't forget to review! _

___*****__Warning:_ There will be some disturbing/dark scenes from now on. I will try to keep it at a minimum but there are somethings that just have to happen. You have been warned.

* * *

Chapter 11-

The first time Lestrange's magic had waver on him, he almost hadn't noticed— he had been shocked at how Tobias had begun to act. But then he felt himself sliding more and more downward. One look at the Potions master face, and he knew what was happening. He felt a small pang of disappointment knowing that it was going to be so simple to take down the craze Death Eater. But he wasn't going to think they had him beat just yet. If Lestrange caught on with their plan, he might just kill them all without a second thought.

"I've seen Muggle-borns cast better hexes than you, Lestrange!"

Harry saw Lestrange flinch at the statement and wondered how far they could push his buttons before he completely snapped. The same maddening look that Bellatrix had seemed to overtake the man's eyes; any form of sanity that he had once had was no longer there. It was at that moment, that Harry knew: either they would die at his hands, or he would be the one to die. There was just no way that the man would be able to live if they managed to capture him. He was already insane and therefore wouldn't be affected by the Dementors at all.

"Shut up!" Lestrange shouted in a fury while pulling at his ear with his free hand. "Shut up! SHUT UP!"

"What's wrong, Lestrange?" Tobias sneered. "Are we hurting your feelings? I would love to tell you that we don't mean it, but then that would be a lie. You worthless bastard!"

With an animalistic scream, Rodolphus made a slashing movement with his wand. Tobias gave a pained cry as blood began to seep from the many cuts across his body, the result of a Cutting hex. Another wave of the wand, and despite his efforts to fight off the Imperius Curse, Tobias was forced to stab his own leg.

Harry couldn't help but close his eyes and try to drown the noises out. The sound of flesh being stabbed combined with Tobias' cries was too much. If it hadn't been for the fact that he hadn't eaten anything since the day before, he was sure he would be emptying his stomach at that moment. He didn't know how much longer they could hold out. They needed to keep attacking him, and not give him a moment's of rest.

"Lestrange!" Harry shouted. "You sorry excuse of a Death Eater. How does it feel to know that your wife was more powerful than you? That VOLDEMORT considered her better than you?"

"That's right, Rodolphus," Severus said. "The Dark Lord always pitted you. He never thought you were strong enough to be within his inner circle, but Bellatrix had spoken in your favour."

"You're absolutely pathetic, Lestrange." Tobias joined in. The pain he felt was almost too much for him, but he couldn't give up— they were so close to making the man lose focus. He could take the pain, he had to, otherwise Severus and Harry wouldn't be able to take on Lestrange. He didn't know exactly what the boys were talking about, but he knew he could play along, Lestrange was far too gone to even wonder how he knew about "snake face" and his followers. "To have you wife ask for you to be let in. I'm sure that's probably why she married you too, out of pity. It wasn't for power, since she obviously had more than you!"

"No! I was more powerful than that _bitch_, Bellatrix!"

"She probably told you that. Just to make you feel better!"

"Ten points, Mr Potter. That is _exactly_ what she would do. She would even tell him that she loved him. Another obvious lie, as it was more than clear that she didn't!"

"Shut up, Snape! She _worshipped_ me!"

With a nasty smiled on his face, Severus slowly said,"She lied! After she was done stroking your ego, she was standing next to Voldemort, drooling all over him."

"Lies!"

* * *

They were all lying to him. It was nothing but lies! Bellatrix had loved him, they had married, not only out of love, but also for the power that his family name could give her. She had told him time and time again, that he was the most powerful wizard that she knew. She told him night after night of passionate lovemaking that she belonged only to him—him and no one else.

_But that had been before the Dark Lord had approached us..._

He could have been more powerful than the Dark Lord, he was just more humble about his powers. Besides, looked at where it landed snake-face—dead. Beaten by a scrawny boy.

_A scrawny boy who has been hit by the Killing Curse twice now..._

HE was the more powerful one!

_Lies!_

HE was better than that insolent half-blood, Snape!

_Liar!_

Dimly, in the back of his mind, he could hear a crackling laughter. Laughter that had been flowing throughout Hogwarts, just hours before. Bellatrix Lestrange, his _loving_ wife. She was laughing. He could hear her laughing and she was laughing at him!

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

Tobias watched as Rodolphus screamed and began to tear at his ears. Feeling the magic drip from his body, he pulled the knife out of his leg and threw himself on top of the Death Eater. The two of them fell heavily onto the floor as Tobias tried to stab Rodolphus. He barely registered that Severus and Harry were both free as well. Having lost a great amount of blood already, he didn't know how much longer he would be able to hold off Rodolphus. He had managed to knock the wand from the man's hand, but he knew that some wizards didn't need a wand to do their magic. Even if he hadn't liked magic when Severus was a child, he had always listened to what Eileen had taught their son. He knew that some wizards didn't have to say anything to cast spells, that some didn't even need a wand to perform magic, and he also knew that wands could be used by other wizards.

Tobias swung his left fist, hitting Rodolphus hard enough that the man's skull hit the floor with a sickening smack. Blood was spewing from the man's nose almost choking him, since he could neither sit up nor stop the flow of the blood. Tobias swung his fist again, but before he could hit Rodolphus, he felt a heavy force pushing away and throwing him across the room and hitting the wall._ 'Well, that answer that question. The git can use wandless magic.'_ As he struggled to stand, he felt two hands grasp his arms and help him to his feet before pulling him away from where he stood. Looking back at the spot he saw they had moved just in time, for there was now a huge scorch mark where they had been. Looking up, he saw Harry had taken Lestrange's wand and was casting spell after spell at the man.

"Stupefy!" shouted Harry. Lestrange dodge and threw a silent spell of his own forcing Harry to hastily throw another spell at him.

"Potter!" Severus scorned, making Tobias flinch at the tone of voice. He hadn't thought his son would ever be capable of possessing such a tone, but he supposed that if he was a teacher then he would have to be strict with his students. Still, it was a bit strange to hear it from his son who used to be so scared of him. "When are you going to learn to keep that mouth of yours shut!"

Harry threw a bewildered look towards his professor before responding, "I can't help it! And is this really the time to be playing teacher?!" Honestly, the man had no priorities whatsoever. They weren't in class for lecturing—they were in battle, trying to get out alive. Yes, he knew that because he shouted out all of his spells that Lestrange knew what to expect and therefore could easily block his attack. But he was too worried about thinking up hexes to try and focus on casting silently.

"Well, pardon me for trying to make sure we don't all die!" Severus sneered.

At this statement Tobias couldn't help but roll his eyes at his son. "Is that _really necessary_, Severus? The boy is doing the best he can!"

"He's being sloppy, dad. _That's_ what he's doing. If he were really doing the best he could, then he would have already taken Lestrange down!"

"Shut up! Why won't you people _shut up_?! Crucio!"

"Aguamenti!"

Lestrange had obviously not anticipated such a spell and was hit in the face with the stream of water before he slipped and fell to the ground, landing on top of some boxes. Despite sputtering, he still managed to block Harry's next hex before sending another Stupefy towards the Snapes. Harry managed to barely block the spell before a Cutting hex caught his left arm.

As Harry jumped out of the way of another Cutting hex, he clutched his left arm trying to stop the bleeding._ 'Damn, even though he's absolutely insane, he's still a good duelist! If I don't take him out now, he's going to kill me.'_

"Had enough, Potter?" Rodolphus asked in a taunting voice.

Not bothering to respond, Harry quickly thought of four hexes and consecutively fired them off without realizing that the last two were non-verbal—a blasting hex and stunning hex, both of which Lestrange was just barely able to block.

Being thrown off in such a way infuriated the craze Death Eater—Harry could see it in his eyes. Because of that, he was able to anticipate the many Crucios and Stunners that were sent his way. He blocked each one, while making sure that the Snapes were still safe. He hoped that Kingsley would hurry up and find them; he could feel his energy draining—the events of the last two days finally catching up to him. He could feel his muscles straining in protest, his body begging for rest. But he couldn't stop. Stopping would mean death for the three of them.

* * *

He could feel his leg pulsing in pain, but it was beginning to slowly numb. The blood was quickly crusting over the wound, effectively slowing the bleeding. He felt faint, but he knew that he had to stay awake and focused. Tobias watched, amazed at the power that Harry possesed. He had never seen wizards duel and even though he knew that he was in danger of being killed, he couldn't help but be captivated by how both wizards seemed to read each other's moves. He wondered if Severus could duel just as great, if not better. He wondered if Eileen had been a great duelist as well.

"It won't be long now," Severus quietly murmured.

"What do you mean by that?" Tobias asked, giving him a quizzical look

"A wizard can only use wandless magic for so long before his body shuts down," he said, keeping his eyes on the duel. "It's why we use wands—our bodies cannot handle the stress of using wandless magic. Controlling what your magic does and where you want it to go is _much_ more difficult without a wand."

"I see," Tobias said. "So, Harry only needs to hold on just a little bit longer before Lestrange fails?"

Shaking his head, Severus said, "Unfortunately, at this point either one could fall. You have to remember that Potter had just fought against the most powerful wizard our world has seen in a long time. And before that, who knows what else those children had been up to. It seems, that once again, we must rely on Potter's luck."

Afraid to know but curiosity winning out, Tobias asked, "And how good is his luck?"

"Well, so far it's kept him alive since he was a baby."

Choosing not to say anything else, Tobias focused once again on the duel. He was so preoccupied with looking at Lestrange for signs of fatigue that he never saw the quick hex that was sent towards Severus and himself. All he felt was searing pain as his body was slammed against the wall and hit the floor. He tried to stay awake and reach Severus to make sure he was okay, but he could barely move.

"Stupefy!"

"Crucio!"

"Sectumsempra!"

"Confringo!"

"Potter!"

The sides of his vision were beginning to blur and the noise around him seemed to dim away. All the sounds were coming to him as if from an old radio. Someone was shaking him, but he couldn't tell who it was. He felt like he was floating now. He couldn't feel anything.

_'I'm so sorry, Eileen. I'm sorry, Severus.'_

"Avada Kedavra!"

"No!"

_'So this is what death feels like.'_


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer - I own nothing! Nothing I tell you! _

_A/N- So here we are folks. The last chapter, there will be an epilogue because this was getting too long and I just didn't want to battle with getting to where I really wanted. If you want to finish the journey with this chapter and make up your own ending, you're more than welcome to, but for those who want to know what happens after this chapter, stick around, I'll have that chapter by next month if not by the end of this month. I want to thank everyone who took the time to read and review this story, your comments were my inspiration to not give up. _

_I would like to thank my beta nargles lurk in the mistletoe for her help with this chapter. _

_And so, without further ado, I give onto you all, the last chapter. Enjoy._

* * *

_Previously in Chapter 11-_

The sides of his vision were beginning to blur and the noise around him seemed to dim away. All the sounds were coming to him as if from an old radio. Someone was shaking him, but he couldn't tell who it was. He felt like he was floating now. He couldn't feel anything.

_'I'm so sorry, Eileen. I'm sorry, Severus.'_

"Avada Kedavra!"

"No!"

_'So this is what death feels like.'_

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Git."

"Hello to you too, Eileen."

Tobias looked around at his surroundings and noticed that they were in a small little restaurant. The place could probably hold no more than thirty people, including the staff. Yet it didn't feel crowded; the claustrophobic feeling that one would originally get in such an enclosed place never reached him. The place was small, yes, but it was warm and had a very homey feel about it. Looking at the menu in front of him, he took notice of the name: "The Cottage House".

"You don't remember this place, do you, Toby?"

With a sad smile, Tobias said, "I'm sorry, love. I don't remember, though something tells me I should."

Eileen looked at him with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Of course you should remember this place! This is where you asked me to marry you, Tobias Snape!"

Then Tobias remembered; he remembered the day quite clearly. She had been barely nineteen, while he was twenty-two, on the verge of twenty-three. They had been seeing each other for a couple of months, and on that day, she had nervously confessed to him that she was pregnant. His first instinct had been to run, his mind telling him that it wasn't his fault she hadn't been careful. But before he could even finish that thought he had realized how utterly stupid it was. So instead, he had taken hold of the weeping girl's hands, and as he looked her in the eyes, he had asked her to be his wife.

Of course, this had all been before he had found out about the magical world. Once he had found out what she was and what his son _would be_, fear had been born and he didn't know how to deal with it. So he had done the only thing logical to him: he had forced fear into them. "Show them to fear you before they realized how much more powerful they were than you." That had been his excuse for more than eighteen years.

"I was a fool to treat you and Severus the way I did," Tobias said. He couldn't look at her in the eyes. He didn't want to see hatred in the eyes of the only woman he had ever loved. For what else would he see in them? He had promised her the world and instead he had given her Hell on Earth.

"Do you really regret it all? Regret meeting me? Regret the birth of your son?" Even though he knew he was dead, the hurt laced in her voice still tore through him like a sharp blade. Ironic really, considering he had just been forced to stab his own leg.

Shaking his head, he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers. Dark, just like his son's. But not in the cold way that Severus' eyes were. No, hers had always been as dark as the night sky in the countryside. Yet beautiful all the same. Whenever she was excited or happy her eyes would light up just like the dark sky full of twinkling stars.

He had forgotten how beautiful she had been. His last memories of her had been of a frail, thin woman. Her eyes had a sunken look to them and the light in them had been gone. He had a feeling,though, that the light had been gone for years before her death. One of the last words her father had said to her still rung in his ears. "You're too good for him, Eileen." The Prince patriarch had been right. She had been too good for his sorry arse.

"I regret ... I regret being an idiot and not realizing just how lucky I was to have you and Severus in my life."

She was quiet for a long time before responding. "It took you quite some time to realize this." She said nothing else as she turned to look out the window that overlooked a beautiful rose garden.

That he didn't recall the restaurant having, but he didn't mind it anyhow. Just further proof that he was dead. He wondered, though, where he would go now. Hell or Heaven. Perhaps he had sinned far too much in his life and would be thrown into Purgatory. Either way, he had hoped to ask his son for forgiveness one day. Now, for all he knew, Severus could be dead too.

The thought that he would never see his son again, to try and make amends, tore at him and before he knew it, his body was wracked with sobs. He had failed at everything life had given him. He hadn't even been able to keep his son safe after the fates had finally returned his child to him. He was useless. Perhaps it was best that he died. Tobias just wished that he had been able to take that bastard Death Eater with him.

He was pulled from his musings as the soft hand of his wife grasped his. Somehow she had moved from sitting across the table to a chair next to his. As he looked into her eyes she gently wiped away his tears, softly smiling at him. "Severus might be a grown man now, but our little prince still needs you."

"He hates me though, with reason too. Besides, I'm dead now; I can't be of any help to him." He softly took the palm of her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it.

"And what if you could go back?" she asked, carefully looking at him, judging his expression.

"I would try to be the father I wasn't man enough to be when he was a child." With an uncertain gaze he asked, "Do you think he would forgive me? He does after all, have the infamous Snape anger."

Eileen's soft laugh rang throughout the room as she looked at him with a teasing smile. "Ah, yes, that temper. Well, there's nothing I can do about that. But get to know your son, and believe me when I say that you'll be surprised. He's not the monster you thought him to be."

"If anyone was a monster, it was me," Tobias said with remorse.

Eileen simply gave him a small smile. Next thing he knew though, she had scuffed him on the side of the head. "It's about time you saw that, you git."

Her actions took him by surprise, his immediate reaction was to lash out at her, but just as soon as it had happened all he could do was throw his head back and laugh. He looked at her as she smiled back at him, leaning in he gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "You always did keep me on my toes, Eileen."

Her soft laughter filled his ears again and as she held his head in her hands, she said, "I always did love you, Tobias. Never forget that."

Tobias looked at her steadily in the eyes as she said this and before he knew what was going on, she was gone.

He was no longer sitting down. Darkness was everywhere and he could not tell up from down. He tried not to panic; it was useless to panic in tough situations. But his mind kept asking where he was. Was he on his way to the other side? If so, which side? A cynical side of his mind told him that he this was Purgatory. The only thing to comfort him now is the last kiss from Eileen and the warmth of her hands.

After what seemed like hours, though he couldn't tell time, he began to feel pain. It had started out as a mild headache, but soon it was full on migraine. His arms began to ache as well as his legs. His right leg in particular was absolute torture. He didn't know how much longer he could withstand the pain. He closed his eyes in an effort to block it out. Time seemed to pass even faster and he suddenly felt something firm support him.

He could hear people moving around him, but he could not open his eyes. He felt absolutely drained and couldn't keep up with was going on. Finally giving up on trying to wake up, he allowed himself to fall into sleep's embrace.

"When is he going to wake up?"

"Dunno. Madam Pomfrey said it might take longer than usual because he's a Muggle."

"It's a good thing Kingsley was able to get to you guys on time."

Tobias tried to figure out where he was. He wasn't in as much pain as he was before, but he was finding it uncomfortable to keep lying down on the bed. He could recognize Harry's voice and was filled with relief at the knowledge that the boy was safe. Now if he could find out what happened to Severus and Augustus and he could be at peace.

"Harry, are you sure you should be up so soon?"

"Hermione, honestly, it's like you don't know your best mate. He can't stand hospitals."

Tobias heard Harry laugh nervously before the boy responded. "It's true, Hermione, I need to be moving around. Besides, the Healers said I would be fine as long as I didn't do too many strenuous activities for the next week."

_"Talk about Severus! I need to know about my son!"_

He had meant to say it out loud, but it had come out as a groan. It was enough though, that it caught the attention of the people in the room with him. He heard one of them leave the room and call for a Healer. As he forced his eyes to open, he saw Harry leaning over him, looking at him with a relieve smile. The other person in the room was a red-headed boy who seemed as he had never seen a person before.

"Mr. Snape?"

"Harry..." a coughing fit stopped him from asking about his son. Soon enough a Healer was in the room helping him take a sip of water. The cold water was refreshing to his parched throat. After a couple more sips he felt more alert and tried to talk.

"Where am I?"

The Healer answered his question. "You're in a magical hospital, Mr. Snape. Auror Shacklebolt brought you here with serious injuries. You're lucky to be alive."

Tobias forced himself not to scoff at the Healer's cliché response. Ignoring the man as he went about waving his wand, Tobias turned to Harry, looking at the boy, who seemed worse for wear. There were many cuts on his face and the boy had bags underneath his eyes, showing that he'd probably not slept well. Other than that, the boy seemed fine.

"Where's my boy, Harry?"

Before Harry could answer the Healer interrupted him. "Professor Snape is still in intensive care. But he should be fine in a day or two."

"Excuse me, but I don't recall asking you," Tobias said with bite in his tone. He didn't like this man and knew that he was going to make his life Hell until he was released.

"Yes, well, if I recall, I'm the Healer here, not Mr. Potter."

Tobias glared at the arrogant man, and imagined what it would be like to throw his shoe at

his face. He obviously had an ego and didn't seem to take to people ignoring him.

"And what about Augustus?" He didn't know why he was asking, he knew there was no way that the young Healer had been able to survive the attack. But perhaps there was a chance that he had.

The three men in the room looked at each other, neither one of them knowing what to say. As he laid eyes on the bushy hair girl that was standing next to the red-head, he knew the answer to his tears were threatening to fall from her eyes as she tried hard not to cry.

"He didn't make it did he?"

"The spell used against him killed him before he even hit the wall," the Healer said solemnly. "He didn't suffer."

Tobias didn't know how that was supposed to be a comfort to him and the children. Yes, the man seemed like he was sorry he lost a colleague, but at the same time, he seemed immune to death. The room remained quiet as the Healer continued to run his test. After he was done, he wrote his findings on his charts and told Tobias that he was on the well on the way to recovery.

"When can I see my son?" Tobias asked before the Healer could leave.

"I'll have a mediwitch take you to his rooms so you can sit with him for a while. But I want you back in these rooms afterwards, you need as much rest as you can get." And with that, the Healer left.

"Git." Everyone turned to look at the person who had spoken. The red-head seemed pretty embarrassed at the attention his comment had received.

"What?" the boy asked. "He is a git. Trying to act all high and mighty. I think he might be related to the Malfoys."

Tobias couldn't help but smile at the comment the boy made and asked, "What's your name, son?"

"I'm Ronald Weasley, Mr. Snape."

"And does your girlfriend have a name?" Tobias asked as he looked at the young girl.

The girl in question gave him a small smile before she responded, "I'm Hermione Granger."

"That's a very beautiful name, Hermione," he said. "And I'd give it a wager that you're a lucky guy, Ron, to have such a pretty and intelligent girl at your side." He knew the girl was intelligent, because she had that same look that Eileen did.

Leaning back against the pillows supporting him, he thought about everything that had happened. Everything was almost a blur, from the time the bird had dumped Severus on his kitchen floor to the fight against Lestrange. If it wasn't from the slight pain in his left and arm, he would have thought that he was dreaming.

"How long have I been here?" he asked.

It was Hermione who answered his question, "It's been a week since the attack. You've been sleeping since then. Professor Snape has also been sleeping since. They're saying he's lucky Healer Pye was able to heal him so well before Lestrange attacked."

The room fell quiet again as he took in that information. He felt like he was still dreaming. "Harry," he said looking at the young boy in front of him. "What happened? The last thing I remember was a flash of green light."

Harry seemed unwilling to speak of what had happened but knew that Tobias had the right to know the details.

"Well, when Lestrange shot the Avada Kedavra at you, you fainted and it missed you."

_Flashback_

_Harry watched as the Killing curse barely missed hitting the elder Snape. Instead it hit a stack of boxes, which burst into green flames. He knew that the house would soon be engulfed in flames and if they didn't get out of there fast they would have the whole house falling on top of them. Even though they had managed to inflict a certain amount of damage to him, Lestrange was still too strong for him to take down on his own, especially when he was dead on his feet. He knew it was pure stubbornness to stay alive that was keeping him on his feet._

_Quickly moving to the Potions master's side, he helped him move Tobias away from the flames while making sure that Rodolphus was too busy trying to catch his breath to notice them. Harry saw one bonus that came from the flames. While, yes, they would eventually suffocate to death if they didn't get out of there soon, they could use the smoke to shield themselves from the mad Death Eater. Catching the Professor's eyes, he saw that the man had realized the same as him. After making sure that Tobias would be safe from the cross fire, Harry grasped his wand and while keeping low to the ground, made his way towards Lestrange._

_It was probably the man's paranoia which alerted him to someone being near him, because before he knew it, Harry was forced to jump out of the way of a Stunning hex. He landed near where the landing to the stairs would be and took hold of a piece of wood, using his wand to levitate it towards Snape. He knew it wasn't much but it could still be used as a weapon. As the smoke intensified, Harry was more tempted to try and put out the flames. He knew though that by doing so, it would become even more complicated to beat Lestrange. Though, using the Aguamenti charm did give him an idea._

_As quietly as he could, he murmured the water charm. A large puddle of water appeared just a couple of inches behind Rodolphus. And just as he had done with Rabastan, he froze the puddle of water. Without hesitating he shouted Lestrange's name and quickly ran around him. This forced Lestrange to turn around quickly, and in doing so, he never saw the frozen puddle. Time seemed to slow down as the floor was suddenly swept from beneath him and he fell heavily on his back. And just as fast as it had all occurred, there was a loud groan and the beams that were supporting the top floor fell. The heavy beams landed on top of Rodolphus' body, crushing him._

_The shock of it all forced the two remaining occupants to fall silent as they both tried to digest what exactly had just happen. After what seemed like an eternity trying to beat the demented Death Eater, the man's downfall had been by his own curse._

_"Quite anti-climactic, isn't it? " Harry asked._

_He saw the professor nod in agreement. The wreckage, though, further showed that they needed to get out as soon as possible. As he moved back to where the Snapes were, Harry saw that the professor was on the verge of collapsing. Just as he was wondering what would be the best way to escape the burning house, there was a loud pop._

_End of flashback_

"Once Lestrange died, the wards around the house fell and Kingsley was able to get help," said Harry, his voice somewhat monotone at the end of the story. No one doubted that what had occurred that day would haunt the boy's dreams for a long time, along with everything they saw during the war. The Golden Trio remained silent as they allowed Tobias to think about the events that had followed after he passes out.

"I thought I was dead," Tobias confessed.

"According to the Healers, you were," the girl, Hermione, slowly said. "Technically speaking, you were dead for ten minutes. Yet somehow you came back."

_"So it hadn't been a dream. I really did see Eileen."_ He remained pensive for the remainder of the afternoon. When it was dinner time Hermione and Ron left for their home, The Burrow, they had called it. Harry though had decided to stay with him to keep him company. He was thankful for the company and told the boy as such. He needed to have someone with him that would help him understand everything that was going on.

He hoped though that he would later be allowed to visit his son. He needed to see him with his own eyes to make sure that he was really alive. Even if he had failed yet again to protect his son from getting hurt, he was glad they had all survived. Well, all of them but Augustus. Tobias was never going to forget the young Healer and everything the young man had done to help save Severus.

"Tell me, Harry, how did you know Augustus?" He didn't know why, but he desperately wanted to know about the Healer.

Harry was quiet as he thought about the day they had all met the Healer. "I was fifteen and it was during our Christmas break... Uhm...Ron's dad had been injured. Actually, he'd been attack by the same snake that almost killed your son. Mr. Weasley was brought here and Pye was one of the people in charge of taking care of him." Harry didn't say anything else about the Healer and Tobias didn't push him to talk. He knew the boy would talk when he was well and ready to.

They passed the rest of the day in silence. Each one lost in their own individual thoughts. He tried to send Harry to the Burrow so the boy could get some rest. Harry, though, refused to leave the elder Snape alone, proving that he was just as stubborn as Severus had been at that age. But he didn't voice this to Harry, knowing that he probably wouldn't take well to being compared to a Snape.

When the nurse, or as Harry had said they were called, mediwitch, came for the night rounds he asked if he could possibly see his son. The woman, who seemed to be around his age, ran her scans as she explained to him that it would be best if the visit was done the next day. He, of course, didn't agree with her, but knew that it would be pointless to argue with the woman. So he had simply given a sharp nod of his head and made a face at Harry while her back was turned to him. This caused the woman to scold the boy for his manners, which was the only fun he would probably have during his stay there.

They remainder of the night was filled with Tobias telling Harry stories from his childhood. He didn't think that there were any stories from his adult years that would be good enough to tell the boy. Besides, most of them he could hardly recall since he was drunk senseless for many of them. Finally, around midnight, the room was quiet as the two of them fell into a quiet slumber. Both of them slept without nightmares, though Harry voiced his suspicions to Tobias about the mediwitch spiking their drinks with a Dreamless Potion. Tobias could tell that Harry didn't like the idea of someone forcing him into sleep, but he couldn't deny that the boy needed rest. He had a feeling that if the mediwitch had confronted Harry full-on, the boy would have refused the potion and would have suffered from nightmares.

Not wanting to start an argument, Tobias simply shrugged his shoulders at Harry and focused his attention to his breakfast and potions that the mediwitch had brought for him. The young lady had also brought Harry something to eat, all the while batting her eyelashes at him, but the boy had ignored both the food and the girl's flirting. Not soon after, another Healer entered the room, and Harry, knowing that he would be kicked out anyhow, left, saying he was going to visit the Weasleys but promising to return later in the day.

So for the rest of the morning, Tobias worked with the Healer. They focused on the arm and leg he had been forced to stab. According to the Healer, the muscle had healed well, but there would be some stiffness for a couple of weeks while the muscles loosened up. The potions and balms had worked well in closing the wounds and left no scars, so Tobias didn't have to worry about the injuries opening up or becoming infected. The Healer informed him that they would be doing therapy until he was released, and that by then everything should be back to normal. As a reward for being so nice to the Healer and not causing any fuss, he was finally allowed to see Severus after lunch.

His son was still asleep, according to the mediwitch, but it was only a matter of time before he woke up. She praised the quick work of Augustus, because if it hadn't been for him and the potions he had taken from Severus' personal stock, the venom would have eventually killed Severus. Tobias thanked the mediwitch for bringing him to his son. She simply smiled at him and informed him that he would be allowed only one hour a day with Severus. Tobias didn't like that, but he could understand. Besides, they were expecting for Severus to wake up any day now, and when he did he would be there to help his son recover.

Until then, he would think about what he wanted to talk to Severus about. They had many years to catch each other up on, and he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to re-unite with his boy. He hoped that there was a future available for him that included being there for Severus like he should have been so many years ago when Eileen was still alive.


End file.
